Federal Judiciary

2008/07/22

2008/07/22

2008/07/22

2008/07/22

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Justin Parsons was arrested for the nonfatal shooting of Arthur Frantz, a firefighter with the Pontiac Fire Department. Parsons was a former firefighter who was discharged as a probationary employee of the Fire Department a month and a half before the shooting. Following his arrest, Parsons was detained for approximately two days before he was released. No charges have ever been filed against him in regard to the shooting.

Parsons sued the City of Pontiac and a number of city police officers pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Michigan state law. Specifically, Parsons alleges that his constitutional rights were violated because he was arrested and detained without probable cause. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

2008/07/24

2008/07/25

PER CURIAM. In response to our opinion granting Defendants-Appellees? motion for appellate sanctions pursuant to Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, John A. Cook, counsel for Defendants-Appellees, filed an affidavit in support of a requested amount of sanctions totaling $152,846.11. B & H Medical, L.L.C., Plaintiff-Appellant (?B&H?), and Stephen M. Ryan, P.L.L.C., and Stephen M. Ryan, Attorneys-Appellants (collectively, ?Ryan?), filed a response contending that the requested amount is excessive. For the reasons stated below, we agree and fix the amount at $10,000.

2008/07/25

R. GUY COLE, JR., Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-Appellee Carolyn Phillips, the representative of Sonya Denise Phillips?s Estate (hereinafter ?the Estate?), filed this claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against various governmental officials, alleging that they were deliberately indifferent to Phillips?s serious medical needs. At issue in this case is whether the district court properly denied qualified immunity to the officials. Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the Estate, we AFFIRM the denial of qualified immunity to the correctional officers of Roane County, Duranda Tipton, and Dr. Thomas Boduch, REVERSE the denial of qualified immunity to Ken Yager, David Haggard, Gloria Wright, and Howie Rose, and REMAND this case for further proceedings consistent with * this opinion.

PER CURIAM. Johnson Controls, Inc., filed this action seeking to declare its former employee, Carolyn Thomas, ineligible for workers? compensation. The district court dismissed the complaint because Thomas already initiated state-court proceedings seeking benefits from Johnson Controls. We affirm the district court?s judgment but not its reasoning inasmuch as it grounded the dismissal on Colorado River abstention when it should have invoked its Declaratory-Judgment-Act discretion. See Wilton v. Seven Falls Co., 515 U.S. 277, 286 (1995) (holding that Colorado River abstention is inapplicable to actions requesting declaratory relief).